During
the US campaign in Vietnam, over a thousand service members were
classified as prisoners or war (POW) or missing in action (MIA.
Generally, those who went missing were killed or captured by the
North Vietnamese.

But in
a few instances, as Robert Beckhusen
recounts at War is Boring,
Americans were captured or went MIA when their planes were shot
down in or near Chinese airspace. Beijing's role in the conflict
is becoming increasingly apparent as the NSA releases signals
intelligence (SIGINT) documents from Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

For
instance, on September 20, 1965, US Air Force Captain Philip E.
Smith accidentally
flew over the Chinese island of Hainan after his navigation
equipment stopped working and he became lost in heavy cloud
cover. A Chinese MiG-19 intercepted and shot down Philips due to
his violation of Chinese territory. ...

Accuracy questioned in JPAC
identification of WWII remains from Philippines

As the Defense Department attempts to identify
World War II remains exhumed in the Philippines in August,
questions have surfaced about the identification years ago of
four sets of remains that were returned to families and buried.

The revelations are the latest in theJoint
POW/MIA Accounting Command sagato
identify 14 servicemembers and Navy employees who died at the
hands of Japanese captors on Nov. 19, 1942, at the Cabanatuan
prisoner of war camp in Luzon and were buried in communal grave
717.

After the war, remains of four of the men in that
grave were allegedly identified and sent home to their families.
What were thought to be the remains of 10 others were moved to
the Manila American Cemetery and buried as unknowns...

Related

The Defense Department’s accounting agencies have agreed
to disinter and conduct DNA testing on the remains of 10
World War II servicemembers who were buried as unknowns
in the Philippines, after years of fighting against
unearthing the bodies. But now the relative of one
veteran believed to be buried there might block the
exhumation.

FEATURE STORY

Families of the missing and Joint Prisoners of War, Missing
in Action Accounting Command whistleblowers believe modern
technology and the analysis of war and post-war documents
can easily identify a great number of these World War II
unknowns but say JPAC has chosen to ignore them.

A Connecticut senator prodded Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel on Thursday for specifics on when and
how the exhumed remains of sailors who died on the
USS Oklahoma in 1941 would be returned to their
families.

On 13 July 1992, the Senate Select Committee
on POWIMIA Affairs levied a task on NSAlCSS to review SIGINT reporting
for relevance to the Vietnam POW/MIA issue and possible correlation to
individual POW/MIA cases. NSAlCSS provided the Committee with three
Correlation Studies, produced in August 1992, September 1993, and
September 1996. Most of the information mentioned in these studies is
chronologically organized by Reference Number (ReiNo), which is listed
as case #, and includes the incident date. The Department of Defense
assigned ReiNos to each incident in which there was the potential loss
of life or capture. There are some entries without a ReiNo or case #,
but do have the incident date. The earliest incident

is dated 1951 and the last 1988.

Over the next several months, NSAlCSS will
post over 1600 additional documents related to POW/MIAs in Vietnam and
Southeast Asia. The documents are NSA field site reporting, NSA end
product, summary reporting, memoranda, watch officers notes, and analyst
communications. For ease of searching, those documents will be
accessible under links posted for each ReiNo for which they contain
pertinent information.

The correlation studies and the documents
related to the incidents have been previously released under the FOIA in
the past, but they have never before been posted together, facilitating
access to families and historians. In addition, the documents have been
reviewed using the most current guidance, making this release the most
complete of any prior releases.

The National Alliance of Families Mourns the
Passing of long time POW/MIA advocate Michael Van Atta. Mike passed on July
14, 2014 of Agent Orange related non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Many will remember
Mike for his fine research and publication “The Insider.” To his wife Luna
and the Van Atta family we offer our deepest sympathy.

-- Lynn

Lynn O’Shea
Director of Research 718-846-4350
National Alliance of Families
For the Return of America’s Missing Servicemen
World War II + Korea + Cold War + Vietnam + Gulf Wars + Afghanistan

.....Shortly after the end of World War II – on 26 September 1945 –
an American soldier was killed in Vietnam. He was the first US citizen to
die at the hands of communist Vietnamese forces.

His name wasLTC A.
Peter Dewey, US Army. He was the son of US Congressman Charles S.
Dewey. He was also a distant relative of Thomas A. Dewey, who would be a
candidate for POTUS in 1948.

LTC Dewey was a member of the OSS. He was serving a post-World War
II assignment to Vietnam at the time as his demise.

LTC Dewey was killed while returning to Saigon from what is today
Tan Son Nhut International Airport (then Tan Son Nhut Airfield) in a Viet
Minh ambush. The Viet Minh afterwards claimed it was a case of mistaken
identity, and that they mistook LTC Dewey for a French soldier. (Dewey
spoke French, and had indeed yelled in French at three individuals near the
ambush site immediately before the ambush occurred.) The other US officer
accompanying him was not injured.

At the time he died, LTC Dewey was awaiting transportation to leave
Vietnam. The aircraft on which he was originally to depart Vietnam that day
had been delayed. He was returning from Tan Son Nhut to the OSS villa in
Saigon for lunch when he was ambushed and killed.

LTC Dewey’s body was never recovered. Vietnamese historical
accounts indicate it was dumped by the Viet Minh in a nearby river.

At the time, the French were US allies. The Viet Minh were then
communist-led rebels opposing the French.

LTC Dewey was killed in the line of duty, by forces hostile to a US
ally, in Vietnam. We later fought those same hostile forces ourselves. But
because his death occurred prior to the “official” start date of the US
Vietnam War Era, he is not listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, nor is
he officially recognized as a US war casualty in Vietnam.

Hagel Orders Shakeup of MIA Accounting Agencies

In this photo from 2010, Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and
Vietnamese workers excavate a 4x4 meter unit at a recovery site in
the Thua Thien-Hue province, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Stars and Stripes|Feb 21, 2014|by Jon Harper

WASHINGTON -- In the wake of numerous reports of misconduct and poor
management practices by personnel charged with recovering and identifying
the remains of missing servicemembers from past conflicts, Secretary of
Defense Chuck Hagel has ordered the Pentagon to come up with a plan to
consolidate all Defense Department assets into a single, more accountable
entity that will manage all personnel accounting resources, research and
operations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feb 22, 2014
UN Report Confirms North Korea Kept South Korean POWs after the War, But
Gives Short Shrift to US POWs Also Held, Even Though They Were Lost While
Fighting Under the UN Flag

[UN also mentions RoK POWs taken from Vietnam to North Korea; there is some
evidence same thing happened to some Americans]

JPAC admits to phony ceremonies honoring ‘returning’ remains

WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense unit
charged with recovering servicemembers’ remains abroad has been holding
phony “arrival ceremonies” for seven years, with an honor guard carrying
flag-draped coffins off of a cargo plane as though they held the remains
returning that day from old battlefields...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Principles collide in captive soldier's case

With the long war in Afghanistan winding down, the plight ofArmy
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahlhas left
the U.S. government trying to reconcile those two longstanding credos in a
bid to win the freedom of the only American solider held as a captive.....

Abandoned in Place, The Men We Left Behind and the Untold
Story of Operation Pocket Change the Joint Special Operations Command
Planned Rescue of American POWs Held in Laos Six Years After the End of the
Vietnam War

by Lynn O’Shea – is
scheduled for release in mid-May to early June 2014. Using documents never
seen publically detailing Operation Pocket Change, O’Shea put together the
events leading up to the aborted rescue mission. While telling the story of
men left behind, men who survived their loss incidents and into captivity.

Commenting on the manuscript, former Senator Bob Smith
wrote, When I received your manuscript, I fully intended to "skim through
it" and then get back to you with a short statement about my reaction to
what you wrote… However, when I started to read, I could not stop. I
actually read every single word and sometimes went back and re-read certain
passages.

I want you to understand that what I am about to say here is
not to flatter you or "blow smoke" at you. I have no reason to do either. I
sincerely mean it, when I say that you have put together the best chronology
and in depth analysis of the POW/MIA issue that I have ever read! As I read
this, I basically re-lived the 25 years of frustration and heartache that I
faced as I worked on this issue. Your 25 years of research and your
excellent portrayal of the facts have been skillfully combined to create a
document that will withstand historical scrutiny on this issue...

Frank you are right on. In 1981, when stationed at Bragg, I
was involved with
some very compartmentalized planning to rescue POWs held in
Laos under
Vietnam control. It had the blessing of the President. We
had privy to radio
intercepts , satellite photos, humint, and much more . The
scale mock up was
updated weekly. The operation was abruptly ended in early
81. Based upon
what I saw and heard there were people left. GB
Scotty

Records relating to the Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO) contract with
Analytical Services Inc. to study restructuring of the DPMO mission and
an overall change in the DoD handling of missing in action/prisoner of
war - MIA/POW issues, 1998-2000 - [PDF 52 MB 19-Aug-2013]
This is a large file; 53 Megabyteshttp://tinyurl.com/mby59ny

W. Montague Winfield, deputy assistant secretary
of defense for POW-MIA policy, said that
in addition to the investigation by the
Pentagon's watchdog, officials ...

Subject: TRAITOR ALERT - DON'T WATCH THE MOVIE. Please pass this
on to every Veteran, Active Military you know!

"The Butler" is a new film about a person who served in the White
House during several administrations. Unfortunately, whoever cast
the movie selected one of the most vile and unrepentant traitors of
the Vietnam War, "Hanoi Jane" Fonda, to play former First Lady Nancy
Reagan.

Until such time as "Hanoi Jane" prostrates herself before God,
Country and surviving Vietnam Veterans and, the families of those
killed or wounded in Vietnam, she should not be supported in any
way. Please help pass this to everyone who cares!

Hudner's heroic attempt would earn him a
Medal of Honor, but it would not save ...
A Concord resident, Hudner is the oldest living
Medal of Honor recipient from ...

Navy vet fails to make it to N. Korea
war site -Hudner had hoped to find remains of friend
who was Navy's first black aviator
http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20130729/NEWS08/307290009/Navy-vet-fails-make-N-Korea-war-site
PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA ? A
decorated Korean War veteran from Massachusetts left North
Korea on Monday without fulfilling his mission: to travel to
the Chosin Reservoir battleground where he was hoping to
locate the remains of a friend who was the Navy?s first
black aviator.

Retired Navy Capt. Thomas Hudner was visiting Pyongyang in
hopes of following through on a promise made to wingman
Ensign Jesse Brown in December 1950 as Brown lay dying in
his crumpled plane.

?We?ll come back for you,? he told Brown after crash-landing
his own plane in a bold but unsuccessful bid to try to
rescue his friend.

The Associated Press conducted what is being
called an exhaustive investigation into the
military's Joint POW/MIA Accounting
Command and found it to be ...

07/23/2013 11:01 AM CDT

Mission Fulfills Sacred Pledge, POW/MIA
Official Says

By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2013 - No matter
what it takes, no matter how long it takes,
the nation must continue to fulfill its
sacred pledge to account for its missing
warriors, the deputy assistant secretary of
defense for prisoner of war and missing
personnel affairs said today.

"We honor the sacrifices of our missing
and the sacrifices of their families," W.
Montague "Q" Winfield told attendees at the
Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention
in Louisville, Ky.

Winfield, also the director of the
Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, leads
the national effort to achieve the fullest
possible accounting of the more than 83,000
warriors lost while serving the United
States. He also is responsible for limiting
the loss and capture of Americans serving
abroad in current operations.

In the last year, Winfield said, the
Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action
Accounting Command has accounted for 64
missing warriors -- seven from World War II,
40 from the Korean War and 17 from the
Vietnam War.

Additionally, the White House recently
approved the charter for a joint U.S.-Russia
commission. "This is a wonderful, wonderful
advancement," he said, "because it will
allow us to increase our bilateral
relationship with our Russian counterparts
as we seek to get more access to their
archives."

One of the most important aspects of his
job is meeting with family members of
missing service members, Winfield said. One
of those family members recently showed him
a letter written from Vietnam in late 1970
by Army Sgt. George C. Green Jr., a radio
operator in the 5th Special Forces Group.

"In the last paragraph of what was to be
his last letter home to his mom, he wrote,
'If I am killed, no one will ever recover my
body, because I don't want anyone to risk
their life for this worthless piece of
clay,'" Winfield said.

In December 1970, Green's reconnaissance
patrol in Laos was engaged by an enemy
force, and he was killed during the
firefight.

"Because of the intensity of that
firefight, his team had to leave his remains
behind," Winfield said. "Like thousands
before him, Sergeant Green answered the call
to duty. Like thousands before him, Sergeant
Green was a humble soldier. Like thousands
before him, Sergeant Green laid down his
life for his brothers in arms. Like
thousands before him, Sergeant Green paid
the price for our freedom with his life.

"Sergeant Green may have felt that he was
a worthless piece of clay, but to us, he was
and is an American hero, deserving our
nation's highest priority and enduring
effort," Winfield continued. "He is not
forgotten."

A widow once told him that people don't
appreciate a funeral until there isn't one,
Winfield said.

"The men and women of the accounting
community are dedicated [and] committed to
doing everything humanly possible to account
for America's heroes -- those who are still
missing. We believe in that mission," he
said.

MIA work 'acutely dysfunctional'

ROBERT BURNS|Associated
Press

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon's effort to
account for tens of thousands of Americans missing in action from
foreign wars is so inept, mismanaged and wasteful that it risks
descending from "dysfunction to total failure," according to an
internal study suppressed by military officials.

Largely beyond the public spotlight, the
decades-old pursuit of bones and other MIA evidence is sluggish,
often duplicative and subjected to too little scientific rigor, the
report says.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of
the internal study after Freedom of Information Act requests for it
by others were denied.

The report paints a picture of a Joint
POW/MIA Accounting Command, a military-run group known as JPAC and
headed by a two-star general, as woefully inept and even corrupt.
The command is digging up too few clues on former battlefields,
relying on inaccurate databases and engaging in expensive
"boondoggles" in Europe, the study concludes.......

(NORFOLK, Va.) - C-SPAN will break story April 20 about “An American
in the Basement”, a investigation Into What Happens to Americans
Missing in Action and/or Prisoners of War, Framed by the Real-life
Story of Captain Scott Speicher

Author Amy Water Yarsinke, a veteran author of more than 55
non-fiction books on American history, military and current affairs.
She is known as “the POW Hunter” due to her experience in military
intelligence.

An American in the Basement is an expose about the betrayal of
Captain Scott Speicher and the cover-up of his death, according to
the author. C-SPAN will explore this detailed investigation for the
first time, as author Amy Yarsinke warns that this story is for
every parent, family member or enlisted person about the promises
made by the U.S. Forces to search, locate, assist and recover all
alive prisoners of war and missing in action.

“The public has been shielded from the ugly truth of the Speicher
case and others like it,” said Ms. Yarsinke. “This book bares the
truth in a way that Washington has actively tried to prevent.”

The story of navy Captain Michael Scott Speicher begins when he
became the first American service man shot down in the 1991 Iraqi
conflict. The book documents what happened, from beginning to end,
with new documentation and eyewitness accounts that confirm Speicher
was alive and captured during that war, but “forgotten” and left to
behind to die. The book also examines in great detail the war of
words used by the armed services to define those it will bring home,
and those it will choose to ignore.

A Soviet soldier who went missing in Afghanistan nearly 33 years ago
has been found living with Afghans in the western province of Herat.
The soldier is semi-nomadic, has the adopted Afghan name Sheikh
Abdullah and practices herbal medicine, Russia's RIA news agency
reports. An ethnic Uzbek, he was found by ex-Soviet veterans of the
war. He was wounded in battle in 1980, only months after the Soviet
invasion, and was rescued by local Afghans.

The head of the official veterans' committee, Ruslan Aushev, said
Sheikh Abdullah - real name Bakhretdin Khakimov - was tracked down
in Shindand district after a year-long search. He had served with a
motorised rifle unit.

The committee lists 264 Soviet soldiers as still missing in
Afghanistan, half of them Russians. In the first decade after the
Soviet withdrawal in 1989 the committee found 29 missing soldiers -
and 22 of them decided to return home, while seven opted to stay in
Afghanistan, RIA reports.

The committee says it is determined to track all of the missing men
down. Sheikh Abdullah was married but his wife died and he has no
children. The committee's deputy chairman, Alexander Lavrentyev,
said Sheikh Abdullah bore the scars of his war wounds - a shaking
hand and shoulder and nervous tic. The ex-soldier, from the city of
Samarkand, was able to name his former place of residence in
Uzbekistan and the names of his relatives, Mr Lavrentyev said. He
understood Russian but spoke it very poorly.

In 2009 the BBC's Lyse Doucet interviewed two ex-soldiers from
Ukraine, now Muslims and living with Afghans in northern
Afghanistan. Some 15,000 Red Army soldiers and more than a million
Afghans were killed in a decade of fighting between a Soviet-backed
government in Kabul and mujahideen fighters armed by the West and
Islamic neighbours.

http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=34188#more-34188A bit over 45 years ago – on 23 January 1968 – the USS Pueblo was
seized in international waters by North Korean forces. It was only the
second US Navy ship to be captured by enemy forces since the War of 1812
(the river gunboat USS Wake was captured by Japanese forces on 8
December 1941). It remains on the roster of US Navy ships today. ......

The government is considering reviewing the legal status
of former South Korean soldiers who have been listed here as killed
in action during the 1950-53 Korean War, but were found to be still
alive in North Korea........

In the closing days of the 2008
presidential campaign, I clicked an ambiguous link on an obscure
website and stumbled into a parallel universe.

During the previous two years
of that long election cycle, the media narrative surrounding Sen.
John McCain had been one of unblemished heroism and selfless
devotion to his fellow servicemen. Thousands of stories on
television and in print had told of his brutal torture at the hands
of his North Vietnamese captors, his steely refusal to crack, and
his later political career aimed at serving the needs of fellow
Vietnam veterans. This storyline had first reached the national
stage during his 2000 campaign, then returned with even greater
force as he successfully sought the 2008 Republican nomination.
Seemingly accepted by all, this history became a centerpiece of his
campaign. McCain’s supporters touted his heroism as proof that he
possessed the character to be entrusted with America’s highest
office, while his detractors merely sought to change the subject.
.......

And read Schanberg's
account of how this story was buried by the mainstream media
here.

Silent TreatmentAmerican Conservative
Magazine
Yet his explosive 2008 essay 'McCain and the POW
Cover-Up' was stonewalled by .... acknowledged that
their paper or magazine or TV network had “blind
spots. ...

07/23/2010

My name is xxxxxxxxxxx, my husband
xxxxxxxxxxxxx was a SK on board the USS Hooper DE 1026, 1966-1968.
He never talked much about Viet Nam or the war. I do know he and
others were put on shore to do body counts. Before he died of cancer
he told me of this:

He was there, WEST PAC, when they were
searching for a downed US fighter jet & pilot they were in a small
boat, they had found a wing off the jet, then they found the pilots
body floating in the ocean.

The captain would not allow them to pick
up the body, but ordered it run over and sunk by the boat. My
husband hated that captain, the captain would not allow them to even
get the dog tags off the body. I'm sorry to tell you this now, I
wish I had more information. My heart aches for the family of the
pilot, never knowing what happened. If the captain, or other crew
members of the Hooper, were contacted maybe they could help with
identifying this hero.

Sincerely

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

widow of xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx USN

Updated: Fri., Apr. 9, 2010, 10:03 AM

Mobster POW scam took LI pol for 18GBy JANON FISHER

Last Updated: 10:03 AM, April 9,
2010

Posted: 4:12 AM, April 9, 2010

A mobster pleaded guilty yesterday to a bizarre scheme to
defraud a former Long Island congressman out of $18,500 in
exchange for bogus information about Vietnam POWs.

Charles Guiga, 38, admitted that within the last year he'd sent
letters supposedly written by a Russian mobster and giving the
locations of 75 prisoners of war supposedly being held in the
former Soviet republic of Belarus.......

Another year has passed… one more year without answers, only more
questions.

One more year, without access to North Korea, only political
stonewalling.

One more year, without open discussion between the US and the former
Soviet Union, China and Vietnam about POWs.

One more year, that the men who survived may have died, yet no
substantive action has been taken to address continued live-sighting
reports.

One more year that Congress has done nothing on the issue of Prisoners
and Missing, not even allowing an up or down vote on Hearings, yet
rushed thousands of pages of pork-barrel laden health care Legislation
through 2 bodies, without fully reading or comprehending what they
were voting on.

One more year that yet another President has done nothing to reach-out
to his global counterparts as a humanitarian issue and bring answers
and closure to the families of the men and women who never came home.

So, that leaves us with a new year. And that means we should seriously
evaluate how to go forward in order to insure we get the most out of
our appointed and disappointing officials.

America is the greatest nation on the earth. Nowhere, has there been
such remarkable bravery, selflessness, sacrifice and charity - for
others. If you do not believe that, then simply look at the endless
list of names of combat casualties who died for the freedom of OTHER
countries and people. Look at the number of Missing, Prisoner and
Presumed Dead from WW I - fighting for the freedom of EUROPE, WW II -
fighting for the freedom of EUROPE and the PACIFIC, Korea - fighting
for the freedom of SOUTH KOREA, the Cold War - fighting for the
freedom of the WORLD, Vietnam - fighting for the freedom of SOUTH
VIETNAM, Persian Gulf War - fighting for the freedom of KUWAIT,
Persian Gulf II - fighting for the freedom of Iraq…. and let us not
forget the numerous other conflicts that cost American men and women
their lives.

When there is a disaster, be it man-made or an act of nature, we are
the first to give… men, materials, money, technology… whatever is
needed, we give. When the Christmas Tsunami struck, our own JPAC put
all activities on hold while they worked against the clock to help
those in desperate need. Around the world, at word of the slightest
tragedy, we pour millions of dollars into the area to assist those
most in need.

When all hell broke loose in Haiti this month, it is the US men and
women in uniform, who are on the scene, making runways out of rubble
and directing the flow of millions of tons of aid, our floating
hospital city off the coast, unable to dock, yet flying thousands of
injured to her sanctuary of healing. The donations of millions of
Americans filling the coffers of Aid agencies and organizations to
bring hope and healing to this battered island nation.

But, when will it be our turn? When will someone in Congress or the
White House say, let's help these POW-MIA families get some answers?
Why is it that our government is so quick to throw all manner of
assistance at someone else's problems, but stands in the way of our
need to find answers?

Why is it that Congress will vote on and pass resolutions for some of
the most stupid and self-aggrandizing notions, yet, do everything in
their power to prevent a simple Yes or No vote on POW-MIA Hearings
that have been sought for more than a dozen years.

Why is it that the State Department and this Administration will
support former President Clinton's foray to North Korea for 2 wayward
journalists, yet do nothing to allow recovery and excavations with the
same nation?

Why is it that we allow China to be our largest creditor and
manufacturer, dumping trillions of dollars of trinkets into this
Country, yet we do not demand the answers on known POWs and MIAs or
the brutal camps the Communist Chinese ran.

In this New Year, when we evaluate what needs to be done and how to do
it, we need to remind our government and ELECTED officials that their
priorities are askew. The days of favoring foreigners over Americans
are over. That protecting the rights of illegals and criminals over
the rights of tax-payers and voters is a thing of the past.

And, most importantly, that men and women in uniform are not
disposable government issue, but the very thing that makes us
truly American… a people willing to sacrifice for someone else, but
not willing to be abandoned by a country and a government that has
lost its focus and backbone.

..... A total of 74,213 U.S. service members remain missing from World
War II, with 19,000 deemed recoverable. There are also 127 missing from
the Cold War, 8,034 from the Korean War, and 1,723 from the Vietnam War,
according to the command's latest figures.....

Thirty-six
Veterans Days have passed since the official release of our Vietnam
prisoners of war, yet to this day we are left with clashing verdicts on
the crucial issue of whether numerous prisoners were knowingly left
behind.

But if all
living American prisoners of war were returned that year, why did an
Air Force general maintain that intelligence experts felt "shock
and sadness" that so many known prisoners were clearly left
behind? Why did a congressman and former high-level aide to President
Ronald Reagan reportedly claim that Reagan privately admitted that
hundreds of abandoned American prisoners were still languishing in
Vietnam at the end of his eight-year tenure? ......

Springs man, famous for POW flag
design, dies

Newt Heisley was 88

May 16, 2009 - 5:22 PM

ANDREA BROWN

THE GAZETTE

The Colorado Springs man who
designed the black and white POW/MIA flag flown everywhere
from federal buildings to Harley-Davidson fenders died
Thursday at his home.

Newt Heisley was 88.
.....

INFORMATION

Every year,
by proclamation, the President of the United States declares April 9th as
"National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day." This
date honors those that CAME HOME along with the missing. In the past decade, an average of TWELVE
returnees have died EACH DAY.

National
POW/MIA Recognition Day is by law, the 3rd Friday in September every year.
This date honors those men and women STILL HELD in enemy hands or buried
on foreign soil.

On August
10, 1990, the Congress passed a bill recognizing the black and white,
POW/MIA flag as "the symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to
resolving as fully as possible the fate of Americans still prisoner,
missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia..."

In 1998, the Veterans
Administration noted the flag will fly EVERY day at their
facilities.

Why is it so difficult to understand the difference between Veterans Day
and Memorial Day?

The original reason for the two days of remembrance have been obscured
if not forgotten.

Veterans Day came from the 11-11-11 Armistice of the Great War (WW I)
and celebrated World Peace until 1954 when Armistice/Remembrance Day was
changed to Veterans Day to honor also those who served in WW II, and now
honors those who served in the Armed Forces at any time. (Those still
serving are honored on Armed Forces Day in May.)

Memorial Day [end of May] (originally Decoration Day for honoring fallen
Union soldiers of the Civil War and also celebrating the Grand Army of
the Republic) has a rich history toward honoring the fallen Union, and
later Confederate soldiers of the Civil War, and then the fallen of WW I
and later casualties of all wars, and also deceased family who never
served in the Armed Forces.

MILITARY
CASUALTIES:
ALL POW/MIAs lost prior to Jan 1, 2013 are now noted as PFOD except
Bowe Bergdahl

The
missing

The
remains
of
approximately
100
U.S.
troops
listed
as
missing
are
recovered
each
year.

World
War
II

78,000
still
missing

20,000
to
30,000
potentially
recoverable

Korea

8,100
still
missing

5,400
potentially
recoverable

Cold
War

126
still
missing

20
potentially
recoverable

Vietnam

1,800
still
missing

1,000
potentially
recoverable

1991
Gulf
War

3
still
missing

1
potentially
recoverable

Source:
Defense
Prisoner
of
War/Missing
Personnel
Office
06/2008

4,500 servicemen were either missing or Prisoner of
War after WWI.(Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, 1975)

World War IPLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOTINCLUDE MIAS - ONLY
KNOWN CAPTURED

Captured and Interned

4,120

Died while POW

147

Refused Repatriation

0

Returned to US Military Control

3,973

Alive as of Jan1, 1998

5

(Ex-POW Bulletin, February 1998)

World War II had 406,872 Killed in Action / 78,750
Missing in Action or Prisoners of War. The State Department knew of more than 5,000
American prisoners in the hands of the Soviets and their European satellites.
(New York Times, January 5, 1954)

On May 19, 1945, British Intelligence told U.S.
officials that Soviet Marshall Tolbukhin had in his possession at Odessa, nearly 16,000
American and 8,000 British ex-POW's.(National Archive copy of Cable)

"...a lot of documents that, taken together,
indicate that Moscow imprisoned 20,000 or more American and several thousand British
soldiers at the end of World War II. The record further shows that U.S. officials knew it
and let it happen."(Bill Paul, Wall Street Journal, August 13, 1987. Documents in the National Archives
in Washington, D.C. )

A 1972 Senate Judiciary Committee study on Communist
treatment of POW's disclosed that captives freed by the Soviet Union had provided evidence
"that several hundred thousand of the missing persons (from WWII) were still being
held forced laborers or prisoners" in the 1950's. (Army Times, October 13, 1986)

World War IIPLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOTINCLUDE MIAS - ONLY
KNOWN CAPTURED

Does NOT include Merchant Marines -
4,780 MIA, 882 Dead (including 37 POws) and 572 released from captivity.
201 alive as of 01/01/2002.

Captured and Interned

130,201

Died while POW

14,072

Refused Repatriation

0

Returned to US Military Control

116,129

Alive as of Jan 1, 1998

52,531

(Ex-POW Bulletin, February
1998 and 2002)

Prisoner of War. "Whereas 944 soldiers of the
United State are now Prisoners of the Chinese Communist forces in Korea... "(Congressional Record, June 29, 1954, Rep. Thomas O'Neill Jr.)

"Approximately 78,750 Americans were unaccounted
for following World War II... Another 8,177 of our comrades in arms are still missing in
action and 389 known prisoners of war unaccounted for nearly 35 years after the end of the
Korean Conflict...."
(Col. Charles D. Cooper, USAF Ret., "The Stars and Stripes, May 9, 1988)

KoreaPLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOTINCLUDE MIAS - ONLY
KNOWN CAPTURED

Captured and Interned

7,140

Died while POW

2,701

Refused Repatriation

21

Returned to US Military Control

4,418

Alive as of Jan1, 1998

2,814

(Ex-POW Bulletin, February 1998)

Vietnam War had 57,685 Killed in Action - at least
2,459 Missing in Action or Prisoner of War.

VietnamPLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOTINCLUDE MIAS - ONLY
KNOWN CAPTURED

Captured and Interned

772

Died while POW

144

Refused Repatriation

0

Returned to US Military
Control

658

Alive as of Jan1, 1998

625

(Ex-POW Bulletin,
February 1998)

"The Pentagon lists six prisoners and 311 men
missing in Laos, but officials believe that the number of prisoners held by the Pathet Lao
guerrillas is substantially higher."(New York Times, 1/29/73)

"The number of Americans still alive is claimed
to be 100-500. There are approximately 2,500 Americans officially acknowledged by our
government to be missing or killed in action. There are another 2,000-2,500 men that our
government will not admit were lost because they disappeared on secret missions, which
helps explain the high number of live sightings of Americans in captivity in Vietnam and
Laos even in 1986.(The New American, Yvonne Becker, 7/14/86)

In 1965, Marine Robert Garwood was captured by the
enemy in Vietnam. In October, 1973, he saw 15/20 American POW's. In March,
1975, he saw 20/22 American POW's. In July , 1975, he saw 6 American POW's. In July ,
1977, he saw one American POW. In December, 1977, he saw 20/30 American POW's. In
December, 1978, he saw 6/7 American POW's. In 1979 Private First Class Robert Garwood,
came home after 14 years as a Prisoner of War. He was charged with wartime desertion,
enemy collaboration, and other crimes. He was found not guilty on all charges except
collaboration. He was not debriefed on his knowledge of LIVE POW's until 1985, six years
after coming home. During his trial, his lawyer said "Bobbies biggest crime was that
he survived." As it is, Bobby Garwood was a major embarrassment to two government:
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, for their claiming no living Americans remain
involuntarily in their country, and to the U.S. for believing them.

In 1988, a former officer of the Royal Lao Army,
stated that he was held captive with Live Americans in 1978 in Laos. Somdee escaped from
prison in 1984 and came to the U.S. In 1988, Somdee went before the House Subcommittee on
East Asian and Pacific Affairs, where Congressman Stephen Solarz refused to allow him to
testify. (U.S. Veteran News and Report, June 29, 1989)

"Look, the Nation knows they (the POWs)are there,
everybody knows they are there, but there's no groundswell of support for getting them
out. Certainly you are not suggesting we pay for them, surely not saying we could do any
thing like that with no public support?"
(William "Bill" Casey, Former Director of the C.I.A., October 7, 1986)

"I do think there has to be...there have to be
live Americans there.(Robert "Bud" McFarlane, Former National Security Advisor to President
Reagan, October 9, 1985)

"I am convinced today that Americans are being
held against their will by the Communists in Southeast Asia.....There could be 50-60 in
Vietnam, maybe more."
(Lt. General Eugene Tighe, former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, During
Congressional Testimony.)

In 1981, just weeks after President Reagan took
office, the new administration learned that Vietnam wanted to sell to the U.S., an
unspecified number of Live POWs still in Southeast Asia for the sum
of $4 billion dollars...it was decided the offer was indeed genuine.(The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, August 19,1986)

The United States Government recognizes only Col.
Charles. E. Shelton, USAF, as a Prisoner of War from the Vietnam War. "...was
reported as missing in action on 29 Apr 65. Sufficient evidence was received on 24 May 65
to warrant placing him in a captured status." His "Duty Status", as of 18
Feb 89 was "Active Duty - On Duty", a battle casualty, in a captured status, in
Laos. (On October 4, 1990, his wife Marian, committed suicide)(DD Form 1300, Dept. of the Air Force, Report of Casualty)

A Joint Casualty Resolution Center cable, dated
January 1988, states that during the August "Vessey visit to Hanoi, the
Vietnamese people were prepared to turn over seven or eight live American P.O.W.'S
if Vessey told them what they wanted to hear...all the prospective returnees were
allegedly held in a location on the Lao side of the border..."

A Buddhist Monk, released on January 20, 1989 from
captivity in a Vietnamese prison camp, had been held with Live American POW's. He had
firsthand knowledge of at least 10 Americans. "Yoshida" is a graduate of Sophia
University, one of Tokyo's International Schools. (June 7, 1989, the Reuters Wire Service)
American POW cell mates had nursed him to health.(The Washington Post, June 10, 1989)

Alabama Senator and Ex Prisoner of War, Jeremiah
Denton says "The greatest motivation I have for me to believe there are
Americans there, is Communist insistence that they are not."

"...Milliner is [sanitized]
and can be brought to the Thai border.... interested in returning him
to the US in exchange for a reward"(JCRC cable OCT 89 from Thailand to Hawaii office.)

A Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Interim
Report concluded that despite public assurances in 1973 that no POWs remained in the
region, the Defense Department"... in April 1974 concluded beyond a doubt that
several hundred American POWs remained in captivity in Southeast Asia..... The executive
branch...has profoundly mishandled the POW/MIA problem.... participants in covert actions
(now MIA) have never been publicly identified... information reviewed provides enough
corroboration to cast doubt on the U.S. G. statement that no evidence exists that
Americans are being held against their will... there is insensitivity on the part of the
Executive Branch of the U.S.G. in providing complete and accurate information to the
next-of-kin..... DOD has allowed its procedures to be dictated by a preconceived policy
finding."(October 1990 Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Interim Report on POW/MIAs in
Southeast Asia)

"Last month, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Thach in
fact confirmed to the United States that his county still held as many as ten U.S.
POW/MIA's. (letter from Senator Jesse Helms to Secretary of State Baker, November 13, 1990)

Colonel Millard Peck, Chief of the Pentagon's Special
Office for Prisoners of War and Missing in Action, resigns in protest of being ordered by
policy makers in the POW/MIA Inter-Agency Group not to investigate live-sighting reports
of American POWs! (Millard Peck, letter of Resignation, February 1991)

Senator Bob Smith addresses the Senate and reveals
that, of more than 1,400 eyewitness sightings of live POWs, NONE has ever received an
on-site investigation!(April 25, 1991):

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's concludes
that the U.S. has ignored thousands of American POWs, and left them to rot in Soviet slave
labor camps and North Korean and Vietnamese prisons. "Any evidence that suggested an
MIA might be alive was uniformly and arbitrarily rejected."(May 23, 1991 Examination of U.S. Policy Toward POW/MIAs)

Summer of 1991: A flood of new evidence of live
POWs pours from Southeast Asia: pictures, handwriting samples, hair samples, blood
samples, fingerprints, footprints, maps and other physical proof. The Bush administration
disregards the evidence and attempts to discredit it by rumor and innuendo. Some of the
photos are scientifically validated -- and have never been scientifically disproven!
"Until we can account for every person missing, we have to run down
these leads to prove that nobody is held." (August 2, 1991: President Bush)

... from Garnett E. Bell, chief of the government's
POW/MIA office in Hanoi. Asked whether any American POWs or MIAs were alive in
Vietnam after Operation Homecoming, Mr. Garnett said yes, perhaps as many as 10.
Although the number is much higher (hundreds of airmen lost in Laos never came
home), the statement was the first acknowledgment of its kind. (Washington Times, Nov 11, 1991)

SomaliaPLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOTINCLUDE MIAS - ONLY
KNOWN CAPTURED

Captured and Interned

1

Died while POW

0

Refused Repatriation

0

Returned to US Military Control

0

Alive as of Jan1, 1998

1

(Ex-POW Bulletin, February 1998)

WASHINGTON -- Somali "entrepreneurs" are
holding several US soldiers in Mogadishu and are prepared to "sell them to the
highest bidder," senior US officials say...... But at least 6 others are unaccounted
for since the raid, in which 12 US personnel were killed and 75 wounded. Administration
officials told UPI today that as many as 5 of the missing are "believed to be
held"
by Somalis with no real connection to Aidid. "We now believe that these
entrepreneurs are holding some Americans in hopes they can sell them to the highest
bidder," a senior US official monitoring the situation closely said under condition
of anonymity.(PRODIGY October 08, 93)

Persian GulfPLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOTINCLUDE MIAS - ONLY
KNOWN CAPTURED

Captured and Interned

23

Died while POW

0

Refused Repatriation

0

Returned to US Military Control

23

Alive as of Jan1, 1998

23

(Ex-POW Bulletin, February 1998)

POW/MIA Returns from Death - Army MSgt. Mateo Sabog
served 24 years. ....... "In late February 1996, Mateo Sabog used his correct
name and social security number to apply for veteran's benefits. When computer records
indicated the application was being made in the name of a man who was officially
classified as dead, fingerprints were compared and they proved Sabog was who he
claimed to be. In early March 1996, Mateo Sabog was returned to active duty so he could be
admitted to the Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia for evaluation and
any needed medical treatment. According to an Army spokesman he's been somewhere for the
last 26 years. But he served his country honorably. We will treat him with dignity."(Washington Times, March 7, 1996)

Newly declassified documents show the U S. lied about
the fate of hundreds of Vietnamese commandos it sent into North Vietnam in the 1960's,
declaring them dead when many survived The U.S. government deliberately declared the
secret agents dead, lied to their families and covered up the matter during the Vietnam
War. Nearly 200 of them survived capture, torture and prison and are alive in the U.S.
today.
(16 June 1996: Reuter's Wire Service)

More than 1400 pages of
recently declassified documents from the National Archive were posted on the
Internet. The documents show that the United States and the Republic of Vietnam have
withheld vital information from family member s for decades. Not only do the documents
show a meticulous method of record keeping by the enemy, but they spell out intent to
capture, hold, document, trade, and lie to the United States on the subject of live
captured American servicemen. (P.O.W. NETWORK, June 19, 1996, Operation "Smoking Gun")

Over the last several months, in separate
conversations with the National Alliance of Families New York State Director, Lynn O'Shea,
one casualty officer assured her there was no cover-up or conspiracy in the P.O.W. issue.
In his words there is "Just a lot of incompetence." While speaking with a
Senator's aide, on a specific case, we were told, "If the government purposefully
went out to hire stupid people to handle this case, they could not have done a better
job." (09/08/96 National Alliance of Families, Bits N Pieces Newsletter.)

In his native Russian, General Volkogonov wrote of his
efforts to help resolve the fate of American POWs. "I am not certain that we
have fully clarified everything. I know that quite a few documents were destroyed.
However, one document, probably sensational, is still in storage. I
have a copy of it. It's content is as follows: at the end of the 1960s the KGB
(external foreign intelligence) was given the task of "delivering informed Americans
to the USSR for intelligence gathering purposes."... General Volkogonov's notes
continued: "History, especially Soviet history, is full of secrets, and very
often evil. With the exception of this incident, I can say that I have done something in
order to raise the mysterious curtain from them...." On November 9th, 1998, in an
article by Bill Gertz, the Washington Times broke the story of the document's existence.
According to the article, "Moscow is refusing to turn over a secret KGB
document suggesting captured Americans were taken to the Soviet Union in the late 1960s
for "intelligence-gathering purposes..." The article continued, "The
Russian government has told U.S. officials the plan was never carried out, and Moscow
recently turned down U.S. government requests to study the intelligence document, saying
it is classified and will not be released, the officials said...." (Bits and Pieces November 11, 1998)

... The POW issue is now the subject of scrutiny
and debate following recent parliamentary testimony by two former prisoners of war who
related their miserable plight in North Korea. Even today, 45 years after the end of the
Korean War, there are more than 100 South Koreans being held captive in the Communist
North.Chang Mu-hwan and Yang Sun-yong, both in their 70s, appealed to the government to
bring back the South Korean prisoners of war held in the North. Both were believed to have
been killed in action, but they returned to the South separately in September and December
after escaping from North Korea where they toiled away, year after year as forced
laborers. They are among the three South Korean POWs to have escaped the North in four
years; the first was Cho Chang-ho who arrived here in 1994. (The Korea Herald, November 26, 1998)

TOTALS FROM ALL WARS -- Includes
Gulf, Somalia, Bosnia, KosovoPLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOTINCLUDE
92,000 MIAS - ONLY
KNOWN CAPTURED

Captured and Interned

142,232

Died while POW

17,004

Refused Repatriation

21

Returned to US Military Control

125,207

Alive as of Jan 1, 1992

93,029

Alive as of Jan 1, 1998

55,999

Alive as of Jan 1, 2001

46,417

Alive as of Jan 1, 2002

42,781

(Ex-POW Bulletin,
June 2001, Feb 1998, March 2002)

Not all POWs who died in captivity are buried at home.
Many are buried in foreign cemeteries, some with only a cross for a name to mark their
sacrifice. In some instances, no grave site or burial site is known.

ONE
serviceman
is still noted by the United States Government as being a"Prisoner of
War" (POW) or "Missing in Action" (MIA) or MISSING
CAPTURED. Presumptive Finding of Death
hearingshave been held on each and every one of the rest, as mandated by the Missing
Service Personnel Act. The result has been status changes from POW and MIAto Killed in Action/Body not Recovered(KIA/BNR) or Presumptive Finding of
Death (PFOD). Included in these status changes, were the324
servicemen in the Vietnam conflict that were "last known alive." All posted biographies will state the status as of 1973,
prior to many PFOD hearings, andpromotions at the time of the hearings. Most
family members and concerned citizens stillrefer to the ORIGINAL status of
their loved ones -- using POW or MIA.

Serb TV early today showed pictures of three American soldiers it said its forces captured near the
Macedonian border. The men were identified as Sergeants James Stone and Andrew
Ramirez and Specialist Steven Gonzalez. The patrol, a unit from the U.S. Army's 1st
Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, was part of a NATO force put in place to secure
Macedonia's border with Kosovo, a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic. The
soldiers were named on television are thought to be held in the Kosovo capital, Pristina.
The vice-president of Yugolslavia, Vuk Draskovic, said: "Nothing wrong will
happen to them. We are respecting the enemy. We will be sticking to the terms of the
Geneva Convention. You can be sure of that." However, he then warned: "They are
going to face Serb justice." Pentagon and NATO officials said alliance forces
and Macedonian police mounted an urgent air and ground search for the soldiers, who were
last reported on a civilian road in Kumanovo, about 10 miles (16 km) from Skopje, the
capital of Macedonia, and less than 3 miles (5 km) from theKosovo border. The last
words heard from them were "help, help, SOS."
[NOTE: As these men were part of "peace-keeping" forces, status as Prisoners of
War, protected under the Geneva Convention, was uncertain.](Compiled from news clips (AP, UPI, London Times, New York Post, ABC 04/01/99)

...Preston's son Terry
is very matter-of-fact in his expression of disappointment toward the handling
of his father's case. "I either want to see him walk through the door alive...
Or I want someone to show me a body that will prove to me that he isn't."

Neither the Preston family nor the families of the seven others who were lost with
him have been given either such means of closure.

In May 1999, the U.S. government presented each family with a highly inconclusive
report signed by Dr. Thomas D. Holland, Scientific Director of the Central
Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, which claims that 23 small, non-mt-DNA-tested bone
fragments "may" be those of one or all of the crew members. The remains were
highly fragmented, rendering individual assessment impossible....

Nonetheless, on December 13, 1999, despite the inconclusiveness of the "group
identification" and the lack of mass graves, the Pentagon released its official,
public announcement that all members of this crew of U.S. military service personnel are
now "accounted for."...{Amanda Y. Kidd is a Georgia freelance journalist and a relative of
CMSgt. James Arthur Preston - Missing In Action - Laos. January 24, 2000)POW
MISSION OF HOPE - The James Preston Case

... In December 1998, the National Alliance of Families was
provided with a set of briefing slides outlining the long term plans of DPMO... Notably
absent, at year 2004, is any funding for the Joint Task Force - Full Accounting
(JTF-FA.)

Folks, those are the guys that, in DPMO's own words
"conducts operations, to include, analysis, investigations, archival
research, and recovery of remains." Quite simply, no JTF-FA, more
information, and no more remains recoveries. This impacts our World War II -
Korean And Cold War - Vietnam - and Gulf War families and the overall POW/MIA issue....

Our fears were again confirmed, by a statement
contained on page 4 of a DPMO booklet titled "POW/MIA Accounting," dated 1999.
The statement, under the caption "VISION" reads; "By the end
of the year 2004, we will have moved from the way the US government conducts the business
of recovery and accounting to an active program of loss prevention, immediate rescues,
and rapid post-hostility accounting."

There it is folks, in black and white, in DPMO's own
words "By the end of the year 2004, we will have moved from the way the US government
conducts the business of recovery and accounting to an active program of loss prevention,
immediate rescues, and rapid post-hostility accounting."

The government is planning to go from what they
consider their active mode to a passive mode. This means investigations will be made
only if Vietnam, North Korea, China, or Russia decide to provide information. Since
all of the nations cited continue to withhold information, what makes anyone think that
they will decide to provide information when we stop asking?

We were further disturbed by the contents of the
January 14th, 2000 DPMO Weekly Update describing an "Extensive Study" that
"Addresses Recovery and Accounting." The update reads; " The Defense
POW/Missing Personnel Office has initiated a broad study to examine the worldwide mission
of POW/MIA personnel recovery and accounting."

"The Department of Defense is charged by law
with responsibility for policy and oversight of the full range of recovery activity, from
pre-combat training, to combat search and rescue to remains recovery. In light of
the evolving missions of the Department of Defense, this effort will help ensure that the
most effective use possible is made of DoD resources."

"The analysis, called the Mission Area Analysis
(MAA), is to help implement the best use of money, resources and technology across the
wide range of DoD's responsibilities in personnel recovery and accounting."
[Our comment: this means JTF-FA.]

"It will examine the entire range of personnel
recovery, to include diplomatic, military, and other means of recovering isolated
personnel. The examination will address recovery operations throughout the spectrum
of conflict from small-scale contingencies to major theater war and peacetime
operations, both at a tactical and strategic level."

"The study will analyze the forces dedicated to
personnel recovery as well as the structure of the organizations which carry out this
mission."

"It will identify deficiencies and pinpoint
where any changes are necessary in doctrine, policy, organization or technology.
Interagency coordination (between the military and other branches of this
government, and other nations) is a critical element of effective planning for personnel
recovery, and the MAA will examine all aspects of this coordination process."

"In the area of personnel accounting and remains
recovery the MAA will analyze all facets of this mission from operational activities to
diplomatic effort to achieve the fullest possible accounting of past and future
unaccounted-for Americans."

"It will look closely at the missions and
structure and budgets of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office; the U.S. Army Central
Identification Laboratory Hawaii; the U.S. Army Casualty and Memorial Affairs Operations
Center; the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory; the U.S. Air Force Life Sciences
Equipment Laboratory; and the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting; and highlight areas where
the Department can most effectively employ its resources to better accomplish the
mission."

"The study began in late 1999 and is scheduled
for completion in late 2000."

It is our opinion that this study will eventually
provide the justification to end POW/MIA investigations, as we know them. While we
have never been happy with the methods used to investigate and resolve POW/MIA cases, we
can not allow DPMO to shift their methods of operations when so much more needs to be
done.

The U.S. government has mishandled the POW/MIA issue
since 1945. We left men in North Korea, China, the former Soviet Union, Vietnam, Laos and
Cambodia. We mishandled every opportunity to gain information and gave away everything in
our grab bag of incentives. These incentives, such as aid and trade, may have gained us
our live POWs or valuable information on the fate of others...

Are we prepared to allow the United States
government, represented by DPMO, to complete the abandonment of men like Charles Shelton,
David Hrdlicka, Roger Dumas, Richard Deseautels, John McDonnell and the others like them?

################

What about John McDonnell - In the September 11th,
1999 edition of Bits N Pieces we carefully outlined the facts leading to the inescapable
conclusion that John McDonnell was alive in a Ba To prison camp, in late February 1973. He
was alive, folks! When the freedom birds were leaving Hanoi, John McDonnell was
still in the jungles of Vietnam and, he wasn't alone. DPMO has labeled all the
sightings of McDonnell as fabrications. They aren't.

Are we prepared to allow the USG to complete the
abandonment of John McDonnell? We're not done with this case. We've found
other information that may correlate to this case. We've also found one live
sighting that if not related to John McDonnell is a coincidence beyond statistical
probability... Yet, DPMO refuses to request access to, or locate, the witnesses who saw
and spoke with John McDonnell, at Ba To.

If we can't mount this last ditch
effort
to insure ongoing investigations, we all better get used to the idea that
the
governments' active participation in POW/MIA investigation will end in 2004,
and
perhaps sooner.....

Speaking of the truth - The following also appeared
in the DPMO weekly update of January 14th "Since the end of the Vietnam War, the
remains of 552 servicemen have been recovered, identified and returned to their families
for burial with full military honors."

This list was compiled off the top of our heads.
There are others. This list does not include the 1/2 tooth identification of Peter
Cressman, or the one and two teeth id's of Mark Danielson, Robert Simmons or others...

Nor did we include the crew of Specter 17,
Thomas Hart, Rollie Reaid; George D. MacDonald; John Winningham; Francis Walsh;
James R. Fuller; Robert T. Elliott; Robert L. Liles; Harry Lagerwall; Paul Meder; Delma
Dickens; Stanley Kroboth; Charles Fenter. Of the thirteen
"identifications" only two were based on acceptable scientific practices.
Through court action, the Defense Department, rescinded the identification of
Tom Hart and George MacDonald. Yet, all are included in the number of 522.......(National Alliance of Families
For
The Return of America's Missing Servicemen
World War II - Korea - Cold War - Vietnam)

NETWORK NOTE: Biographies for EACH of the above named men are available.

Former Soldier Flees to South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- A
former South Korean soldier who was captured during the 1950-53 Korean War
has returned home after fleeing the North, the government
said Saturday......

The latest defectors brought to 497
the number of North Koreans who have fled to the South this year. Last
year, 312 North Koreans defected to South Korea, up from 148 in
1999......

11/24/2001 04:05
APO

Tue, 12 Mar 2002 00:45:07 -36000

Frank you are right on. In 1981, when stationed at Bragg, I
was involved with
some very compartmentalized planning to rescue POWs held in Laos
under
Vietnam control. It had the blessing of the President. We had privy
to radio
intercepts , satellite photos, humint, and much more . The scale
mock up was
updated weekly. The operation was abruptly ended in early 81.
Based upon
what I saw and heard there were people
left.
GB Scotty

10/24/02]
Navy Changes Gulf War Pilot Status

By MATT KELLEY
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Navy has changed the
status of Gulf War pilot Scott Speicher from missing in action to
missing-captured, Sen. Pat Roberts said Friday.

A defense official confirmed that Navy Secretary
Gordon England had approved the change in status, which had been in the
works for months......

POW Status - For the last several years, we have written
about the fact that the Department of Defense (DOD) quietly eliminated the
designation/status Prisoner of War as it applies to captured American
service personnel. DOD representatives, specifically those from the
Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO) have told us we are wrong. They say the POW
status still exists. We've asked representatives of DPMO, on more than one
occasion, to provide us with a copy of the controlling directive governing
and describing the conditions under which a member of the Armed Forces
would be listed POW. Needless to say, they have been unable or unwilling
to provide this directive. This leads us to believe, in spite of their
statements to us and the media, that there is no directive under which a
member of the Armed Forces would be listed as POW.

DOD Controlling Directive 1300.18, issued Dec. 18, 2000,
does not provide for a Prisoner of War designation/status. Under this
directive, the most a captured service member can hope for is the
ambiguous designation/status Missing/Captured or MIA-C.

Section E2.1.1.24. of the Directive reads, in part
"Missing. A casualty status applicable to a person who is not at his
or her duty location due to apparent involuntary reasons and whose
location may or may not be known...."

Subsection E2.1.1.24.3 deals with captured personnel
stating "Captured. The casualty has been seized as the result of
action of an unfriendly military or paramilitary force in a foreign
country."

Thus the new status "Missing-Captured" or
"MIA-C.) No where in the December 20, 2000 directive will you find
the phrase Prisoner of War or its acronym POW.

When the Navy changed Capt. Scott
Speicher's status from Missing to Missing/Captured, then Secretary of Navy
Gordon England wrote, "This category denotes that a service member
has been seized as the result of action of an unfriendly military or
paramilitary force in a foreign country..... if the government of Iraq is
holding Captain Speicher he is entitled to Prisoner of War status under
international law and the Geneva Convention..... Although the controlling
missing persons statute and directives do not use the term "Prisoner
of War," the facts supporting a change in Captain Speicher's category
from Missing in Action to Missing/Captured would also support the
conclusion that, if alive, he is a Prisoner of War."

In other words if the status existed,
the Secretary of Navy would have designated Capt. Speicher a POW.

We realize that our enemies violate the rules of
international law and the Geneva Conventions regarding the care and
treatment of captured American Service Personnel. Terminology will not
change that. Terminology does change world perception regarding the value
we place on our captured personnel. In the eyes of the enemy, doesn't it
downgrade the worth of a battered American service member, displayed on
television worldwide, for the Department of Defense to designate him or
her Missing/Captured rather than Prisoner of War?

The status Missing/Captured fails to provide this
nation's service members the moral dignity and international recognition
provided by the Prisoner of War status.

###############

Call To Action - We're asking
your help to get the Prisoner of War status reinstated. DOD isn't going to
do it. Elimination of the POW status is part of their overall plan to end
the POW issue. With no POW status, they will never again leave a POW
behind.

We're asking all who read this to contact their Senators
and Congressional Representative, informing them that the POW status has
been eliminated and state your opposition to this move by the Dept of
Defense. We're betting that most if not all Senators and Congressional
Representatives are unaware of this.

We've set up a web site listing all Senators and
Congressional Representatives along their addresses, phone and fax
numbers. There are also samples of two letters that you can download, to
send to your representatives. You can also adapt these letters to send to
your local newspapers. This issue needs to be brought to the attention of
all Veterans groups and the public at large.

We can't do it without you. For the list of Senators,
Congressional Representatives, and sample letters visit http//www.nationalalliance.org/powstatus.index.htm

##############

Why Is This Important -
Neither International Law or the Geneva Conventions recognize the status
Missing/Captured. Our captured service personnel must be designated with a
status recognized by the International community and it's conventions.

Those of us involved in the POW/MIA issue have often
stated that one of our goals is to make sure that no POW is ever left
behind, again. With the elimination of the Prisoner of War status, the
Dept of Defense has taken care of that, the easy way. They simply
eliminated the designation/status Prisoners of War.

We're going to make the issue of the elimination of the
Prisoner of War designation/status a priority for 2005.

However, we can't do it alone. We need every POW/MIA and
Veterans Group and each individual to write the letters. Once the letters
are written, we need follow-up. We can not let the Dept of Defense strip
our captured service personnel of the designation/status POW and the legal
and moral protection that status implies.

##################

A Little Late But Here It Comes
- In early 2000, we obtained a copy of DPMO briefing slides detailing long
range plans and goals. List among DPMO goals was the plan to
"Transition the accounting process from active operations to reactive
efforts triggered by new information by FYE 2004."

We created quite a stir with our statements that DPMO
was preparing to end recovery operations. DPMO even accused us of
spreading misinformation, until we posted the briefing slides on our web
site. Well, we are now in FYE 2005 and unfortunately more and more cases
are being categorized "No further Pursuit."

This past week we received an email from Chris Rich,
husband of Diane Moore. Diane is the daughter of confirmed POW, CMS Thomas
Moore. Chris informed us that DPMO is ready to declare this case "No
Further Pursuit."

Thomas Moore, Samuel Adams, Charles Dursing and Jasper
Page were captured by the Viet Cong on October 31, 1965. Two days later,
on November 2nd, while being transferred to detention camp, the four
attempted escape. Only Page succeeded. When the war ended, the Vietnamese
government listed Moore, Adams and Dursing as having Died in Captivity.

In recent years investigations conducted led to
excavations in an attempt to recover remains. Unfortunately, the
excavations were unsuccessful.

There is no question that the three were Prisoners of
War. There is no question that the fully cooperating Vietnamese government
know what happened to these men. They admitted in 1973 that the three died
in their custody. Yet, they have failed to lead investigators to a
successful recovery of remains.

If cases of confirmed POWs are now being declared
"No Further Pursuit" what chances do other case have as we
approach the DPMO goal to "Transition the accounting process from
active operations to reactive efforts triggered by new information
...."

A letter to President Bush is needed asking how we can
continually certify the Vietnamese government as "fully
cooperating" on the POW/MIA issue when they have failed to account
for men they admit died in their custody.

##################

Candlelight Vigil - Friends
Working to Free Scott Speicher will mark the 14th year since the shootdown
with a Candlelight Vigil. The Vigil will be held on Monday, January 17th,
2005, at 730pm at Lake Shore United Methodist Church, 2246 Blanding
Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32210. The group will also remember PFC Matt
Maupin during the Vigil. Scheduled speakers include for MIA-C Ron Young,
(Who wants to tell Ron Young he was never a POW) and Carolyn & Keith
Maupin, parents of PFC Maupin.

If you are in the Jacksonville area, please come out and
show your support for Capt. Speicher and PFC Maupin, while remembering all
our POW/MIA's from World War II, Korea, the Cold War, and Vietnam.

For more information contact Georgia Davis at Georgiand@aol.com

If You Can't Make It to Jacksonville - Make a call to
the White House on Monday January 17th and let the President know we
haven't forgotten Scott Speicher. Call the White House Comment Line at
202-456-1111 between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM EST.

[clipped].....

Sunday, 23 October
2005

Press Conference Set to Discuss Upcoming Screening for Congress
of New Documentary on American POWs

WASHINGTON, DC, (NAMC) - Congressman Ron Paul will conduct a press
conference Friday, Oct. 28th at 12 noon announcing plans to
distribute the documentary film, "Missing, Presumed Dead: The
Search For America's POWS," to all the members of Congress
and the Senate.

This effort is being made to aid the passage of House Resolution
Bill, HRes 123, that will create a Select Committee to investigate
all the unresolved matters relating to any United States personnel
unaccounted for from the Vietnam Era, the Korean Conflict, World
War II the Cold War Mission, or Gulf Wars, including MIAs and
POWs.

Representatives of POW/MIA and veteran organizations will speak
briefly followed by an introduction to the documentary by
filmmaker Bill Dumas. The film will then be screened for the press
and House members/staffers in Rm. 122 of the Cannon House Office
Building.

“Missing, Presumed Dead” focuses on Bill Dumas and his
family’s search for Bob Dumas, a U.S. Soldier who served in the
Korean War but was declared MIA by the U.S. Government. But the
Dumas family has solid evidence and eyewitness accounts that Bob
Dumas, along with other American soldiers, are still being held by
North Korea.

Choices, Inc will release “Missing, Presumed Dead” on DVD. In
addition to the film, the DVD will contain a director’s
statement, additional scenes and teacher resources.

Bill Dumas will be available for interviews in Washington D.C.
from October 24th until October 29th. To arrange an interview,
please contact him at (213) 948-9998.

In the Twentieth Century the United States fought three wars in
Asia: World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In all three, thousands of
Americans were captured and became prisoners.

The fate of live American POWs in World War II was comparatively
easy to establish, because the Japanese were vanquished, they
surrendered unconditionally, and virtually all the territory they
had occupied came under American or allied control. After the
surrender, there were few, if any, places the Japanese could hide
live American prisoners of war, nor any reason they would want to.

SHOREHAM — Rita Davis, 73-year-old cousin of deceased Army
sergeant Richard Desautels, will always remember her cousin as a
lively and vibrant young boy.

“He was full of energy,” recalled Davis, who was only 14
years old when Desautels left their native Shoreham for a tour in
the U.S. Army in the Korean War. “His family had this small
tractor and he’d come down the hill. He would push the clutch in
and come tearing down that hill with the dog right behind him. I
remember my stepfather having a royal fit.

“He was just being a boy. That was Richard.”.....

PRESS
RELEASE

For
Immediate Release

September
16, 2009

POW/MIA
Recognition Day

On September 18th 2009,
America
pauses to honor and remember our unaccounted for Prisoners of War
and Missing in Action, our husbands, brothers, sons, and fathers.
On this day it is appropriate we share some of our memories:

"As of now, I can come to no other conclusion."Former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director James Schlesinger
before theSenate Select Committee on
POW/MIA Affairs, when asked directly if the United States left
men behind in Southeast Asia.

"There are too many live sighting reports; specifically
observations of several Caucasians in a collective farm by Romanians
and the North Korean defectors' eyewitness of Americans in DPRK to
dismiss that there are no American POW's in
North Korea
." Background Paper prepared, in 1996, by I.O.
Lee, analyst Defense POW/MIA Office (DPMO).

"Americans, including American servicemen, were
imprisoned in the former
Soviet Union
...." The Gulag Study 5th Edition issued Feb. 11,
2005 - compiled by the Joint Commission Support Directorate (JCSD),
the investigative arm of the U.S/Russian Joint Commission on
POW/MIAs.

AAshley and
four crew members, (Turner, Olsen, Shaddick, and Ishida) were known
to be alive in Communist hands as of the close of the Korean
conflict, Jul 53.@
Escape and Evasion Section of the 6004th Air Intelligence Service
Squadron, report dated Oct. 19th, 1955.

“There is evidence, moreover, that indicates the possibility of
survival, at least for a small number, after Operation
Homecoming...."Conclusion of the Senate
Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, January 1993

“
U.S.field teams in
Vietnam
since 1989 have uncovered evidence that more Americans were
in fact taken captive than officially recorded.”(“The
Universe of Possible POWs: 1973 versus 1992” by Sedgwick D.
Tourison, investigator, for the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA
Affairs 1991 - 93.)

Too many reports to dismiss…There is
evidence…. The possibility of survival…. More Americans were in
fact taken captive than officially recorded….. These
are not our words.These are the words of
government officials taken from official government documents and
reports.

These words haunt our memories as we continue to asked; what of the
men known, some by name, to be alive in enemy hands at wars end.
What happened to these men and how many, like their South Korean
counterparts, survive today decades after the end of the Korean/Cold
War and the War in
Southeast Asia
.

We cannot dismiss the possibility of survival for unaccounted for
POWs, based simply on the passage of time. The
release, over the last 15 years, of more than 60 South Korean
soldiers from the Korean War held as POWs in
North Korea
proves that.

The October 12th edition of
FrontPageMag.com contains a piece by Jamie Glazov title “The POWs
We Left Behind.” This article is an interview with the
National Alliance of Families Director of Research. The
link below will take you directly to the article.

Army Orders Probe at Arlington National Cemetery, Releases
Investigation Findings

Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced today that he
has ordered an investigation into allegations of lost
accountability of some graves, poor record keeping and other
issues at Arlington National Cemetery.

"This is the place where valor rests, a place of
reverence and respect for all Americans," McHugh said after
signing an order directing the Army's Inspector General to begin
an investigation into allegations regarding cemetery operations."As the final resting place of our nation's heroes,
any questions about the integrity or accountability of its
operations should be examined in a manner befitting their service
and sacrifice."

McHugh's order comes on the heels of revelations that
cemetery workers inadvertently buried cremated remains at a
gravesite already in use.The error was discovered in May 2008, and cemetery
officials immediately took corrective measures, moving the
cremated remains to another gravesite and remarking the original
grave.Since then,
questions have been raised over whether cemetery officials used
proper procedures to correct the mistake, including notifying the
next of kin.

McHugh's announcement of the probe follows completion of
separate internal investigation by the Military District of
Washington (MDW) - which the Army released today - over the
discovery of an unmarked grave.Cemetery officials conducted an extensive search of both
internal and Department of Veterans Affairs records, followed by
the MDW investigation and additional efforts by the cemetery,
which employed ground penetrating radar and a team of
geoarchaeologists.

"Cemetery
records, the MDW investigation, and the non-invasive geophysical
analysis of the grave sites strongly indicate that a husband and
wife, who died years apart and should have been buried in the same
gravesite, were instead buried in adjacent graves," said MDW
spokesman Col. Dan Baggio.

Cemetery officials have ordered new grave markers for the
site.While exhuming
the remains and conducting DNA testing would provide a 100 percent
assurance of the cemetery's findings, the family has declined
taking such invasive action.The Army is abiding by their wishes.

While the unmarked grave was first discovered in 2003,
cemetery officials took no action until 2009.McHugh is now directing the Inspector General to examine
accountability and policy issues in that case.The Inspector General is also in the midst of a management
review of Arlington National Cemetery, begun under former Army
Secretary Pete Geren, to make overall recommendations on how
better to operate the facility, including possible changes in
policy, procedures and regulations.

"A thorough investigation, and transparency in its
results, can help correct whatever may be wrong, and ensure
America's confidence in the operation of its most hallowed
ground," McHugh said, adding, "We will take appropriate
action as the facts dictate."

Wiseguys take ex-pol LeBoutillier for $18.5G in scheme to rescue
American POWs from Vietnam War

An alleged errand boy for a jailed Colombo
gangster was charged Thursday with scamming an ex-congressman out of
$18,500 in a phony scheme to rescue American POWs.

John LeBoutillier, a wealthy blue blood Republican who was elected to
Congress in 1980, has been on a personal crusade to locate dozens of U.S.
prisoners of the Vietnam
War he thinks are held in Belarus.......

09/2012 Nam- Pows Cited for Life Time
Achievements

The Air Force Association celebrating the 65th anniversary of
the USAF at The Gaylord on the Potomic in North Harbor MD,
16Sep2012, honored the entire body of Nam-Pows for their
Lifetime achievements for our nation. Attending that annual AFA
convention were four Nam-Pows with their wives: Col. Carlyle S.
Harris, Col. Elmo Baker, LTC Richard E. Smith and LTC Orson
Swindle.

Several individuals and four groups were cited during the formal
ceremonies at the well attended final banquet. When the four
Nam-Pows mounted the stage, Col. Smitty Harris accepted the
Crystal trophy on behalf of the Nam-Pows. Col. Harris delivered
a powerful , moving speech of acceptance. His remarks include:

"In the prisons of North Vietnam another type of
war was fought by the American warriors. The enemy
attempted to exploit us for propaganda; attempting to force us
to condemn our government and to urge other warriors to
cooperate in their efforts. We refused to cooperate regardless
of the punishment and coercion. Armed with our national
patriotism, the Code of Conduct, our person integrity and
our unanimous commitment to 'Return with Honor', we defeated the
captors attempt to propagandize us. WE WON THAT BATTLE!"

At that moment the entire audience stood and applauded in an
extended ovation. Among those attending were the SECDAF,
Chairman of the JCS, The Chief of Staff of the AF, AFA Chairman
of the Board S. Stanford Schitt as well as countless other high
ranking officers and civilian dignitaries.

As the foursome descend the steps of the stage, we were greeted
the in-coming and out going Chairman of the JCS in frozen salute
until we passed and made our way to our seats.